Tag: children
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Is Ethical Line Crossed When Children “Like” Products?
An Advertising Age article discusses recent litigation filed by parents against Facebook® alleging that the social network has used names and/or likenesses of their children in product endorsements without obtaining parental consent. While no child younger than age 13 is supposed to be able to set up a Facebook® account, Consumer Reports estimates that some…
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McDonald’s Declines to Retire Iconic Clown
McDonald’s Corp. investors have reportedly rejected a shareholder proposal that asked the company to prepare a report assessing the role of fast food in “childhood obesity, diet-related diseases and other impacts on children’s health.” Led by the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, which apparently owns $2,000 in company stock, the proposal coordinated with an…
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Physicians, Scientists Call for More Pesticide Testing on Kids’ Favorite Fruits, Veggies
A group of physicians and scientists has written a letter to federal agencies calling for more pesticide testing on children’s favorite fruits and vegetables. Noting that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) typically releases latest data on pesticide residues on fruits and vegetables each January but has yet to do so this year, the May…
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USDA Launches Online Mapping Tool that Locates “Food Deserts”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has launched an Internet mapping tool that locates “food deserts” in the country. Designed to help policy makers, community planners and researchers bring nutritious food to low-income communities that lack accessibility to grocery stores, the Food Desert Locator is part of first lady Michele Obama’s initiative addressing the childhood…
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FTC Proposes Voluntary Principles for Marketing Food to Children
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has released its proposed voluntary principles for marketing food to children in an effort to encourage “stronger and more meaningful self-regulation by the food industry.” Designed by an FTC-led interagency working group with input from the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and U.S. Department of…
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Media Focuses on Neurodevelopmental Disorders Linked to Pesticides, Mercury
“Forty years before it was removed from paint, pediatricians had enough evidence of lead’s ability to maim children’s brains—catastrophically and irreversibly—to warrant discussion in a medical textbook,” opines Sandra Steingraber in the March/April 2011 edition of Orion Magazine, where she posits that not only is the developing brain more vulnerable than the adult brain to…
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New York Times Discusses Online Food Marketing, Sugar’s Side Effects
An April 21, 2011, New York Times article targets the online marketing techniques allegedly used by food companies “to build deep ties with young consumers,” claiming that “multimedia games, online quizzes and cellphone apps” have become “part of children’s daily digital journeys, often flying under the radar of parents and policy makers.” The Times highlights the…
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McDonald’s Seeks Dismissal of Happy Meal Lawsuit
McDonald’s Corp. has filed a motion to dismiss a putative class action seeking to stop the company from advertising and selling to children its allegedly “unhealthy Happy Meals” with toys. Parham v. McDonald’s Corp., No. 11-00511 (N.D. Cal., motion filed April 18, 2011). Details about the lawsuit appear in Issue 375 of this Update. The…